


Walking the Line

by Dominique_Icefall



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Ideas, Doctors & Physicians, Economics, F/F, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Government Agencies, Health Issues, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Mental Health Issues, Politics, Queen - Freeform, Sort of? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2019-09-29 13:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17204276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dominique_Icefall/pseuds/Dominique_Icefall
Summary: Harry has a crush on an older boy at her new school. She plans to avoid him until her crush fades. Too bad it doesn't work out that way. Poor girl's got the Potter luck after all.add in the drama of her friends' lives, the Host club, and Luna taking over a Yakuza group in an animal rights protest...well at least Harry's life isn't boring right?





	1. Chapter 1

 

Harry tried to ignore the blond boy squealing a few seats ahead of her. Whatever the other girls saw in Suoh, Harry differently wasn’t seeing it. She felt a bit of sympathy for Fujioka, the poor first year had to deal with the blond and his ridiculous antics every day. Even after school at that otome game club of theirs.

 

She shook her head as she dismissed the distraction. Hermione had texted her earlier, a reminder to call during her next free period. It was a bit annoying, but Harry managed to turn on her Bluetooth earpiece to make the call. She began gathering her paperwork and schoolwork, absently wondering how she’d juggle work meetings and school. Maybe Hermione could make her a time turner? As the call connected, Harry began walking toward the cafeteria. It was lunchtime, and if Hannah found out she skipped it again...Harry sighed. It was best not to give the Hufflepuff a reason to worry. Especially on Physical Exam day.

 

“I’ve arranged a training session with Agent Midori,” Hermione said when the call connected. “And you’re training with Agent Senji has been moved to after school hours. Specifically on school grounds. There’s an available dojo. Rent is within your training budget-”

 

Harry recalled the dojo Hermione was talking about. She’d checked it out when the papers for renting it had been placed on her office desk. It was a good dojo, and with a few temporary Wards, it would be fit for both physical and magical training.

 

“Send a message to Bill,” Harry said, heading towards the cafeteria. “I’d like to hire his old Warding team. A temporary five-layer multi-purpose ward, negotiate for prices around five thousand, no more,”

 

“Understood,” Hermione said.”...will you be coming over today?”

 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

 

“Because you should be making friends Harry,”

 

“I already have friends,”

 

“Besides Ron and I,”

 

“George, Ginny, Neville, Hannah,  Luna, Susan-”

 

“How about you make some friends at that school of yours? They have a magic club don’t they?”

 

“A Black Magic club,” Harry rolled her eyes. “I’m not getting involved with that, who knows what the muggles get into messing with that branch of magic,”

 

“Then maybe they need some guidance,”

 

“I don’t know,” Harry sighed. “Maybe I’ll just make a Mythology and Folklore club instead,”

 

“Wouldn’t that be funny, Mistress of Death, the oldest Myth in our Enclave teaching others about Myths…”

 

Harry smiled. Then she remembered that Ron hadn’t actually been at the apartment when she visited the past few days.

 

“Is Ron going to be there or…”

 

“I don’t know,” Hermione groaned. “He’s been going out with Lavender more often, I think they’re even looking into their own apartment together,”

 

“That’s…”

 

“I can’t believe they’re still dating! He only started talking to her because of the love potions. By Morgana, who does she think she is? ‘Oh, I’ll just drug him up to get his attention’ Like that's a good start to a relationship. We’re his best friends! Where was she when a Death Eater was revealed to be his pet rat? Where was she when -”

 

Harry hummed along as Hermione began ranting. Personally, Harry hadn’t thought Lavender wouldn’t last more than a year. So far it’s been a year, and there was no sign of her leaving Ron. By Merlin, when Ron followed her and Hermione to Japan, Lavender packed up her life in England and came with. Maybe they were good for each other?

 

“-Usa-chan!” A familiar voice said down the hall.

 

Harry quickly ducked into a side hallway and pressed up against the wall. Peering around the wall she saw them. Honi and Mori-senpai. Harry watched them as they walked down the hall. Honey-senpai was talking about something sweets related...and Mori-senpai was as calm and collected as always. Harry’s gaze fell to the hidden muscle and quite a strength, as her mind wandered. What would it be like to be held in his arms? To rest her head on his chest? To dance with him? To _spar_ with him? Oh, she could just imagine what it would be like to spar with the Kendo champion. Her face flushed at the thought, her heart thudding in her chest and echoing in her ears.  

 

“Harry?” Hermione asked from her earpiece. “Are you having a panic attack? Your bracelet Harry! Call Hannah, breathe!”

 

“I’m fine! I’m going to lunch. I’ll call you later,”

“Oh, well...be safe then Harry,”

  
“Be safe Hermione,”

 

Harry turned off her earpiece and shoved it into her purse. She let her head hit the wall behind her with a thud. Why did the older boy make her heart race? Why was he the one who stirred these unfamiliar feelings in her chest? Why couldn’t it be someone she actually had a chance with?

 

Harry ran a hand through her black curls, her nails scraping against her head, before tightening the yellow ribbon at the nape of her neck. She fixed her skirt, adjusted her sleeves, and double checked her messenger bag and purse. Pulling out her hand mirror she checked her make-up, which still hid her scar, and smiled. Sure, one of the most attractive guys at Ouran made her heart race, but she was fine. It wasn’t his fault he featured so frequently in her daydreams. She’d get over it, one way or another, and everything will go back to normal. It’s only been three weeks since this crush developed anyway, it wasn’t that big a deal anyway.

 

A nutrient smoothie, with a special nutrient potion, a turkey sandwich, and a cup of pear slices made up her lunch. Harry smiled at the chef and took her tray to a corner in the back of the cafeteria. With her back to the wall and all the exits within her sight, Harry settled down to eat.

 

She’d be meeting Hannah in a private room for her Physical Exam, unlike her weekly meetings which were in the Academy’s Clinic. Hannah was still worried over Harry’s health problems, like the sudden growth in her magical capacity, or the instinctive response her magic has to ‘danger’ both real or imagined. Harry really doesn’t want to keep hurting her friends because of a nightmare or flashback, but she can’t seem to control her magic unless she’s awake...even then a flashback or memory will wrestle control away from her.

 

Harry stabbed a pear slice with a frustrated huff. A group of giggling girls had Harry looking up, and she saw the King of the Otome club making a speech. Whatever he was saying, it must’ve been dreamy because half the group of fangirls swooned. Harry glanced around the group and saw Mori-senpai, sitting with Honey-senpai and the red-headed twins. They were on the other side of the cafeteria...it wouldn’t be obvious if she watched them right? The other girls were fawning over Suoh...so maybe one girl so far away would go unnoticed?

 

The time for the physical exams was set for after lunch. Harry made her way to her private exam room with little hassle. The panicking girls flooding the halls with cries of a pervert doctor were annoying though. Ootori’s doctors were too polite for such accusations.

 

Hannah ran Harry through the required tests, frowning and humming at the results, before running the magical tests as well.

 

“You’re starting to gain weight,” Hannah said. “Just don’t push yourself too much during training,”

 

“I’ll be careful,” Harry promised.

 

“There’s still dark magic in your curse scars,” Hannah continued. “How are your symptoms?”

 

“I still get headaches and migraines...chest pains and smoke still make me nauseous...and my limbs still spasm sometimes…”

 

“Cruciatus exposer, it may be a life-long thing but I’ll continue looking for something to help,”

 

“Thanks,”

 

“How are you sleeping?”

 

“Ah...fine?”

 

Hannah raised a delicate eyebrow. Harry sighed.

 

“I go to bed around ten, but don’t fall asleep until midnight. Then I’m waking up around three at the latest,”

 

“Nightmares?”

 

“...yeah,”

 

“Try taking naps throughout the day then, see if that helps,”

 

“Alright,”

 

Hannah sent Harry back to class with a smile.

 

On her way out of the Hall where the other students were having their physical exams, Harry saw Mori-senpai in a doctors coat. She ducked her head, hiding her blush, as she quickly left the room. She had International Economics next class, she didn’t want to be late.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Honey waved cheerfully to the karate club members as they left. Today he’d given a speech on safety and proper conduct in the dojo. After what happened in the kendo club yesterday, all the martial arts clubs were doing it. They couldn’t have their students beating each other to death because they showed up in a bad mood. The more temperamental of the students left with a bit more understanding on the importance of self-control, while the more cool-headed ones left with smiles.

 

He grabbed his school bag and closed up the dojo. Then he headed over to the kendo club to get Takashi. He wondered what Tama-chan had planned for the club today, he hadn’t said anything yesterday so it wasn’t anything he’d have to prepare for. Maybe they’d be ambushed with a surprise theme when they got there.

 

Honey hummed happily as he glanced around for Takashi. They’d have to get to the music room soon if they wanted to get there before the first costumers started showing up.

 

Where was Takashi?

 

Honey frowned, before checking the doors to the kendo club’s dojo. Locked up. Takashi was usually hard to miss in a crowd, standing taller than anyone else Honey’s never had trouble finding him before.

 

“Hey-hey!” Honey bounced up to one of Takashi’s club mates. “Where Takashi?”

“He’s probably at Dojo two,” the boy said. “It’s where he was this morning too,”

“This morning?”

“Yeah, we have a tournament coming up, so Mori-senpai called us in early to give us our safety lecture. Except, when we all gathered in the dojo, he wasn’t there. Katsu found him at dojo two. That’s all I know senpai, sorry,”

“Oh, that’s fine, thank you!”

 

Honey made his way over to dojo two. Takashi was there alright, but he wasn’t training. He was standing at the open door with a group of others, all watching whatever was going on inside. Slipping through the crowd, Honey made his way to Takashi’s side. Then he turned o see what was holding the taller boy’s attention.

 

It was a girl, about their age, holding a bo staff. She was pretty, almost delicate looking, but he could see the determination burning in her eyes. Then her trainer scoffed.

 

“Poor pathetic Potter,” the man said, circling around the girl. “What are you doing here?”

 

The trainer swung his staff.  She blocked the overhead attack, pushing the man back and swinging her staff to hit his leg. He stepped out of the way, swinging his staff up and slamming it against a specific spot on her chest. Potter gasped, clutching her chest as she suppressed a scream.

“You are damaged,” the trainer said, swinging the staff around to hit another very specific spot on her back. “You are weak,” a third hit across the back of her shoulders sent her to the ground. But Potter just clenched her hands around her staff and got back up.

 

“You should quit Potter if you think this is some game,”

“I’m not the one treating this as a game,” Potter said. “I am here because I have something to protect, and a cause worth fighting for,”

 

She swung her staff. The man blocked. They exchanged blows, the trainer hit spots that were clearly sore or injured. She was swept off her feet, the trainer holding his staff at her throat.

 

“Is that all it’s gonna take to defeat you?” Her trainer asked. “Your enemies will know about your weaknesses, Potter. They aren’t going to coddle you just because you're damaged. Give up, and get yourself a bodyguard. You shouldn’t be fighting,”

  
"I refuse," Potter said, gripping the staff of her trainer. She pulled it out of the man’s hands as she pushed herself back to her feet. "I'm a lot of things, but a quitter isn't one of them," the clash of staff on staff followed by him kicking her feet out from under her. Potter fell into a roll and jumped back to her feet with a glare. A few more blows were exchanged before the man hit at one of Potter’s injuries again.

 

"Your strength, speed, and stamina, are all pathetic," the man said as he knocked Potter on her backside again.  
"Then I'll keep training," Potter said, getting back up. "I don't quit,"

Honestly, Honey wasn’t surprised the girl had caught Takashi’s attention. But as interesting as she was, they had to leave  _now_  if they wanted to make it to the Host club on time.

 

“Takashi?” Honey said, reminding his cousin they still had another club to get to today.

“Ah,” Takashi said. “Let’s go,”

 

Honey followed Takashi away from the dojo as the crowd cheered for the Potter girl. A glance behind them showed the green-eyed girl was trying to leave but was blocked by her audience.

 

“Who is she?” Honey asked.

“Special,”

 

Honey hid his smile into Usa-chan’s head. Did his cousin have a crush? That was adorable...wait. Did Takashi even know how to ask a girl on a date? Honey glanced up at his cousin. Takashi was blushing...oh this was going to be halarious.

 

“...good luck, Takashi,” Honey said they neared the music room. “I’ll support you if you decide to ask her out,”

 

Honey glanced out of the window during a break from entertaing guests. It was a really nice day outside, maybe Tama-chan would have them host a picnic or something soon. That would be really nice. A dark haired girl in a yellow dress drew his eye towards the fountain. It looked like...that was. It was Potter, the girl Takashi had a crush on. She stood outside by the water fountian with a blond haired boy. The boy clearly wasn’t a student at Ouran. The two were talking...the boy handed Potter a letter...she opened it, read it, then tore it up. Honey took another bite of his cake as he watched Potter walk away. The blond gathered up the torn up paper before running after the dark haired girl.

 

Did Takashi have a rival for Potter’s attention? Already? Poor Takashi, he hasn’t even spoken to Potter yet. At least she didn’t seem to want the blond boy’s attention, so Takashi still had a chance. All he had to do was talk to her.

 

Which...propably wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

 

“Are you going to ask her out?” Honey asked when Takashi sat down at the table with him.

“Ah,”

“I see...do you know when you’ll ask her out?”

“...no,”

“Hm, I don’t think you’re the only one with your eye on her,” Honey said. “Don’t take too long, or you might lose your chance,”

“I know,”

 

Honey worried about Takashi and the Potter girl until he fell alseep. He wasn’t sure how being rejected would affect Takashi...the only crush Honey remembered Takashi having was back in their first year of high school and it faded after a few months. If Takashi actually wants to get to know this girl, it could be more than ‘just a crush’ but...what was it then?

 

Would Potter already having a boyfriend break Takashi’s heart? What if she wasn’t interested in boys at all? They had a classmate like that last year...lesbian she called it. What if Potter was that, and Takashi naver had a chance in the first place? Or what if she was arranged to be married to someone? Or...or she could just not be attracted to Takashi like he was in her.

 

This wasn’t even his problem, and he was fretting over it. How was Takashi handling it? Was he half as worried about this? Probably, probably not. It was hard to tell. Takashi could worry with the best of the mother hens, but he could also just decided to not let it bother him. Honey wished he could just leave it alone. He just really wanted Takashi to be happy. He deserved it, but there were so many variables they had no control over.

 

Variables...crap. Honey sat up in bed with a curse. He completely forgot about the calculas test he had tomorrow. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He scrambled for his notes to review until he fell asleep. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about the test.  Their teacher had been talking about it all week. He had to stop worring about Takashi’s love life, before it started affecting his grades.


	3. The Animal's Guardian Angel

Kasanoda found an angel on his way home from school. She was beauty and grace given human form, a goddess in mortal skin, her smile was pure, her eyes were so expressive.

 

"Big or small, protect them all," the angel said, placing a flyer in his hands. She met his eyes fearlessly, an earnest determination shining in the silver gems. "Because the human animal is not the only being on this earth,"

 

"Ye-yeah," Kasanoda said. 

 

The angel searched his eyes before nodding and moving on to the next passerby on the street. 

 

He saw her there every day after that first meeting. Always block away from his house, and always with her flyers and posters. 'We Fight for Animal Rights' her flyers said. Her multicolored sundress, lime green jacket, and pink sneakers were ee catching, drawing the attention of everyone around her. Her simple requests and soul searching gaze had several people taking one of her flyers with them. 

 

It was a week after their first meeting when she brought a wooden box to her street corner. Kasanoda stood in the back of the crowd as the white-haired angel began speaking. 

 

"Evil prevails when good men and women do nothing! I believe animals should be respected as citizens of this earth. They should have the right to their own freedoms, their own families, their own lives. Did you know that puppy mills, large-scale commercial dog breeding operations, put a greater priority on profits than the health of the puppies? Nearly three million dogs worldwide are plagued with illnesses like kidney or heart disease as a direct result of the conditions they’re kept in. Thousands of greyhounds die each year—some in the name of “selective breeding”—before they ever touch a racetrack. Many dogs do not make it to the nominal “retirement” age of four or five years old. And that's just dogs!

"Chickens, did you know? Due to genetic manipulation, 90% of broiler chickens, chickens bred specifically for meat production, have trouble walking. More than 70% of the fur in the world comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are often bled to death and skinned alive for their fur. Chinese fur is often mislabeled, so if you wear any fur, there’s no sure way of knowing whose skin you’re in. Over 115 million animals – mice, rats, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, birds, among others – are killed in laboratory experiments worldwide for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing every year.

"The exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US and while some wild pets are bred in captivity, many are taken from their native habitats. The stress of being violently removed from their homes causes a number to die prematurely. This is the world we live in. It's not the world I wish to die in, which is why I speak. Big or small, be kind to all! " 

 

Kasanoda hesitated for only a minute before he grabbed a stack of flyers from the ground by the angel. Her grin as he began passing out flyers with her was worth the embarrassment of dealing with other people. 

 

"I'm Luna," the angel said. "thank you for helping me,"

 

"Nice ta meet ya," Kasanoda said. "call me Kasanoda,"

 

"Would you like to get dinner with me?" Luna asked.

 

"That...ah, that would...sure let's get some food,"

 

Luna picked up her wooden crate. Kasanoda offered to carry it for her and huffed at the surprising weight of the small box.

 

"What's in there?"

"Flyers," Luna said. "We're going to an American inspired bbq place next. People need to at least be made aware of where their meat comes from,"

"...how many flyers are in this damned thing?"

"About a million," 

 

She must be an angel, Kasanoda decided when he saw her pulling out impossible stacks of flyers from the small wooden crate. There's no other explanation that would make sense. 


	4. Ranting Results in Reckless Plans

"She's so stubborn!" Draco said as he paced the length of the family room. "I've told her how inheriting titles work, but she just doesn't seem to understand what that means for her. I even brought a letter explaining it from Gringotts. She tore it to shreds!"

 

Astoria hummed in agreement as her fiance ranted. She turned the page of her magazine. If she was going to sit here for however many hours this took, she might as well catch up on muggle fashion. 

 

"So many people are just giving her their estates and titles and everything else they own because she can't accept their thanks. She did so much for our community yet she acts as if literally dying for all of us isn't that big an issue just because she's alive now. If she'd been born a squib we'd all be dead! We should all be grateful! We have that right to be grateful for all she's ever done for us, yet what does she do? She up and heads to another county. Not everyone can cross international boundaries with only a smile. She doesn't even realize how much political power she has!"

 

Oh, Lavender became a model. Astoria's not surprised. The beauty queen was always well...a beauty queen. It was nice to see someone she knew find success in their own right. In the muggle world, the Brown Clan has no influence so Lavender's modeling career is completely her own achievement. 

 

"The ICW has registered the D.A. as a specialized task force, with Potter as Head of the entire thing yet she treats it as just another business she's running. With everyone just handing over their properties and whatever else, I wouldn't be surprised if she owns the entirety of magical Britain. Does she realize the economic catastrophe we're heading towards?"

 

Wasn't Hermione writing articles on Magic Theory or something last month? Astoria twirled her wand, a stack of newspapers floating from the bookshelf. She flipped through them and smiled. Granger's Dangers, a topic of the day based article Hermione was writing for any magical newspaper willing to pay for her contract. She was currently writing for a scholar's magazine in Japan. 

 

"Her magic saturates Hogwarts entirely as if she'd built the castle instead of the Founders, or at least built it with them. Gringotts is just a blood test away from registering the castle as Potter's! So she decided to switch schools like that's going to make a difference!"

 

Was Draco still going on about that? Astoria suppressed a sigh. She needed some tea. Maybe she should go to Japan, at least there she could find some good company. Maybe she could enroll at that school Potter went to? As Draco's fiance, she should get to know all the important people in Draco's life. Potter was clearly an important topic for him. 

 

"I'll just have to make her Queen or something, so at least society doesn't crumble."

 

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Astoria said when Draco finally stopped talking. "I'm thinking of going abroad for a few months. I'll be back for Yule."

 

"Safe travels," Draco said, heading towards his office with a single-minded determination. "You're right, this is a perfect plan."

 

Astoria wondered what kind of plan she'd just encouraged.

 

"Maybe I should've been paying more attention to what he was saying..."

 

Hopefully, she'll be in Japan and far away from whatever backlash this plan of his causes. 


	5. Chapter 5

Harry had a headache. Rewriting employee contracts and business regulations was not her forte but as the owner of these businesses, it was on her to make sure they weren't prejudiced. Her only saving grace was that she could use the same format for most of her businesses. It was just filling in the blanks that gave her a headache. Magic always made things difficult. 

 

"The floor plan of both bookshops is completely barmy," Harry said. "But I don't know how to fix it."

 

"Then we can fix it together Harry. You're not doing this alone." Hermione said.

 

Harry glanced at her watch and sighed. Her next class was starting soon.

 

"I'll call you again later Hermione," Harry said. "Thank you,"

 

"Of course Harry. We're all here for you."

 

Harry slipped her earpiece into her purse. She left the library, glancing at the other students with a grimace. She could spell her area quite for her phone calls, but the rest of the library was always so noisy. Compared to the quiet of Hogwarts' library this level of noise grated on her nerves. 

 

"Did you hear?" One of the girls in her Political Science class said. "Ootori is engaged!"

"Really? To who?" Another girl said.

"Some French girl. She just transferred today."

"So romantic."

 

Harry was just glad it was Ootori. If Mori-senpai was engaged...she shook it off. It was just a crush. It's not like the world would end if Mori-senpai got engaged to someone else. Someone better than her. Someone without scars, or nerve damage or nightmares. She pictured herself as that girl, perfect in every way.  Perfect for him. 

 

Harry Potter, daughter of James and Lily Potter. Goddaughter of Sirius Black. She'd have grown up with her parents, known of magic her entire life. She would be confident and brave, and she'd have adults who cared about her. Sirius wouldn't call her James when they dueled, nor would he call her Lily when she was reading. She'd have learned about the Black titles and responsibilities from Sirius instead of Draco. She'd have friends sooner and her achievements would've been encouraged. Maybe her Dad would warn her about being a horrible bully as a teenager, so she would be prepared for Snape's petty vengeance. Maybe her parents would've helped her study, would have taught the things she didn't understand. She'd grow up, healthy and loved. She'd attend Hogwarts like a normal witch. Maybe her curiosity would bring her to the muggle world for further education. Maybe that's when she'd transfer to Ouran, and meet Mori-senpai. Maybe then they'd have a chance because she'd be perfect. 

 

Harry blinked as one teardrop after another fell onto her notebook paper. Her perfect history, with a sketch of who she wishes she could be, laid bare on the paper. She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief before softly tearing the page from her notebook. She'd never be that perfect dream girl. She crumbled the paper in her hands, balling it up and crunching it tight. 

 

Class ended. Harry gathered up her things, the ball of crumpled paper falling under her desk as she left for home.


	6. The Good-Intentioned Idiot

A piece of crumpled paper hit the back of Kyouya’s head as the class left for lunch. Brushing off the paper, the Shadow King of the host club ignored the hectic nature of his classmates. Tamaki caught the paper ball. Unlike the other crumbled papers made out of their last worksheet, this one was notebook paper. It also had dried tear stains.

 

He straightened the paper out and sighed sadly at the heartbreaking poem written there.

  


_She carries her shame in one hand and sadness in the other_

 

_But love will be there for her within the comfort of her family_

 

_She carries a smile that fails because her lower lip is wounded_

 

_But gentle hands will tend to wounds and wash away the pain_

 

_She slowly drags her feet until they come crumbling down_

 

_But they’ll catch her when her feet fail and help her stand again_

 

_She cries out - “Mum, it hurts. My smile it hurts.”_

 

_“Then cry, my dear, and safe within my arms I’ll hold you.”_

 

_“Mum it hurts. My hands they hurt.”_

 

_“Then rest, my dear, your work is done.”_

 

_“Mum it hurts. My legs they hurt.”_

_“Then sit, my dear, your travels brought you home.”_

 

_“Mum it hurts. My heart it hurts.”_

 

_“Then love, my dear, for a family is more than blood.”_

_“Should I let go?”_

 

_“Whatever for my dear?”_

 

_For you are no more than a dream._

_Words of a Mother I’ve never had._

_Comfort from a family I never knew._

_Love for a girl who cannot Love._

 

Tamaki had stopped walking to read the poem. It _hurt_ to read those words. It was a cry for help, someone needed help, and Tamaki wanted to help them.

 

“Tamaki?” Kyouya asked, eyeing the crying blond with hidden concern.

 

Tamaki just handed over the wrinkled paper. The two continued walking to lunch while the Ootori looked over the paper.

 

“It would seem there’s a girl in need.”

 

“A girl in need, in our class. Kyouya! How could I have missed a Damsel in distress within our class!”

 

“There are several girls in our class. Most of them are very cheerful, and often hold your attention more than the quieter girls do.”

 

“That’s no excuse! I’m going to write a personal letter to each girl in our class and find out which one is in need of Prince Charming! Then we’ll save her from this inner darkness and welcome her to a life of joy-”

 

Kyouya suppressed a sigh. He wasn’t sure this was a problem Tamaki could solve with good-intentioned meddling. Hopefully, there’s a way to prevent things from getting out of control...maybe if he found the girl before Tamaki did. Yes, that would probably be for the best.

 

Now, which girl in class 2-A was a secret poet with shaky hands? 


	7. Chapter 7

Harry overheard several rumors about the Otome Boys’ club. Creating ‘dark’ backstories for their ‘personas’ was an interesting idea, but she didn’t approve of how Ootori’s fiancée was going about it. How are the girls supposed to play the Otome game those boys got going on if the ‘backstories’ are so suddenly added? It’s like she’s only played a single game in her whole life. It wasn’t Harry’s problem though. 

 

There was a letter on her desk. Harry glanced around the classroom and saw all the girls had letters on their desks. Curious, Harry sat down an opened it.

 

Unlike the business letters she got or the letters from her friends back in England, this one was purely non-magical. The envelope, a soft pink with darker pink flower petals along the sides, held a letter written to her by a non-magical person. Who’d write her a letter? Maybe it was just because she was a girl in this class, it does seem like all the girls got letters too.

  
  


_ Dear Miss 13, _

 

_ I write to you in hopes that if you need a friend, you’ll know that I am here. I would love to make your life better by being your friend. If you’re interested, please write me back and leave the letter with our teacher to pass on to me.  _

 

_ For my first letter, I should introduce myself. Please, call me Roi. I am sixteen years old, an Aries, and enjoy spending time with my club friends. _

 

_ What things do you enjoy miss? _

 

_ Let’s be friends! _

 

  * __Roi__



 

 

Harry folded the letter and put it in her school bag. Listening to two other girls compare their letters, it was essentially the same for everyone. It was still a cute novelty to have received a non-magical letter. 

 

One class switched to another, and Harry couldn’t get the letter out of her head. She’d never received a non-magical letter before. Ever. The itch to write a response, even if it was just a thank you letter, nagged at her all day. 

 

During lunch, Harry decided she would. She’d sit down and write a response to ‘Roi’. 

 

Once she started writing, she found it hard to stop. Even only talking about trivial things she managed to write a decently long letter. She ended it with a ‘Thank you,’ and signed it ‘Ibis’. Latin for Owl, not very creative but ‘Roi’ was French for King so she felt it was fine.

 

On her way home, after handing her letter to the teacher, she passed by the Otome Boys doing a movie shoot. She hesitated at the outskirts of the movie shoot only long enough to see Mori-senpai act his scene. 

 

“Of course he has a voice that could melt butter,” Harry muttered. “Get it together Potter.”

 

She really had to get over this stupid crush.


	8. Chapter 8

Kyouya sat in the club room as Tamaki read through the letters their female classmates wrote him. There were only sixteen responses, ten of them from frequent guests of the host club and expected to fawn over romantic or sentimental gestures.

 

Tamaki’s first letter had been nearly six pages long, showering the poor ‘Miss 1’ with positivity. In order for the other girls to not feel left out, the blond went ahead and started to write it all over again, for ‘Miss 2’. By the third letter Tamaki’s hand was cramping, his pencil was broken, and he’d draped himself over the table crying about how much his ‘letters of love’ were a torturous task. 

 

“We have nineteen girls in our class Tamaki,” Kyouya reminded him. “Maybe you should write a letter with fewer words.”

 

And after three hours spent cutting out pages of needless romanticism and poetry they reduced the six-page letter to only one. 

 

Now, Tamaki was reading through and determinedly responding to each letter. A few were longer than others, but as far as Kyouya could tell none of them seemed to need much more than some mild encouragement for their day to day problems. Until the blond reached the last letter that was.

 

“Kyouya!” Tamaki cried. “This poor girl!”

 

“What is it, Tamaki?”

 

“She says 'not pretty’, How can a girl just say that about herself?”

 

“Low self-esteem?”

 

Tamaki tossed the letter at the other boy, before wailing about whatever injustice he felt had happened. Kyouya just opened up the letter and scanned through it. 

 

‘I like music and have been learning the violin at my great Aunts instance. I’m not a very graceful dancer, but I enjoy martial arts and bo staff training. I also like books on mythology and folklore, but unlike the Academy, I transferred from Ouran doesn’t have any classes or clubs for the subject.’

‘I have so many issues with people so much as looking at me that attention is not something I want. I’m not exactly pretty to look at after all... I’m not used to having money to spend.’

‘The place my Aunt picked is so empty with just me there. Even with a full staff of maids, I still feel so alone when I return.’

The girl signed it Ibis. Comparing her handwriting to that of the poem they’d found the other day, Kyouya was certain Ibis was their poet. None of the other letters had that shaky hand quality to them.

 

While Tamaki sat down to write Ibis another letter, this one longer and more focused on showering the girl with compliments, Kyouya used what information Ibis’ letter provided to find the girl in the student database. 

 

“Whatcha doing Boss?” the Hitachin twins asked, peering at the letter Tamaki was writing.

 

Kyouya decided he’d search through the database at home. Tamaki was going to spend an hour waxing poetic about the mystery damsel in distress to the twins, and it was a toss-up whether or they’d get involved too. If he was going to have any chance to find this girl before the Club freaks her out, he had to start searching for her now.


	9. Sleeping Beauty (part 1)

Harry was flipping through her financial reports during the break between classes when someone brought a chair up to her desk and sat down across from her. She blinked at her classmate, Ootori she thinks, and glances around the classroom. Suoh was flirting with some girls, so she shrugged. If he wanted to sit near her while his best friend did whatever that was then she didn’t care.

 

“The host club will be closed for the next few days,” Ootori said, not looking up from his laptop. “The third music room will be available, should you require a place to yourself.”

 

“Thank you for letting me know.” Harry smiled. She always knew Ootori was a good person, but that didn’t mean he had to be nice too. She hadn’t been expecting it at all honestly. Who would offer to rent out a classroom for someone else? Apparently, Ootori would. It was difficult trying to rent a music room because the first two were used interchangeably by the drama and musical theater clubs. The third was used by the Otome game Club and the fourth was supposedly a gambling den for the D-class students. 

 

She kept reviewing her paperwork, trying to weigh profits and losses and comparing various prices and products and all those numbers. She wished it wasn’t her problem, but Hermione was busy trying to graduate University and already juggling being her personal assistant. Ron wasn’t that good with numbers or paperwork, and Lavender’s modeling career was barely starting. Hannah was living half in Ouran’s clinic and a half in the dorms of her specialist medical university. Luna was off doing Luna things and visited Potter Mansion whenever she felt like it.

 

“Maybe I should delegate…” she muttered to herself. That would mean hiring people...which would mean meeting new people. They’d fawn and worship her for what happened last year or before. They’d ask uncomfortable questions, and talk over her, and make mistakes...but she couldn’t do all of this on her own. Draco had been right about the increase in her workload. Every time she blinked it was like her businesses doubled. 

 

Eventually, their next class started, Ootori returned to his desk and Harry put away her paperwork. When class ended for the day, Harry glanced at Ootori and when he nodded, his implied offer from earlier still there, she made her way to the music room.

 

It was beautiful. Spacious, with instruments set up to be both admired and played where the sound would be best heard from the room as a whole. It was a music room, but much like she supposed the Otome club did, she wasn’t going to use it as a music room.

 

With a wave of her hand, she magicked a place for her to sleep by the windows. Her yellow uniform transfigured into a simple nightgown, her hair fell around her shoulders and she flopped onto her makeshift bed. A nap, as Hannah suggested, would be greatly appreciated right now. She’d have to find a way to thank Ootori later, but she’d think of something after her nap.

 

Sleep was good. Sleep was very good…


	10. Sleeping Beauty (part 2)

Haruhi walked into the music room expecting the Hosts doing something about the Twins’ fight. Instead, she found the music room looking mostly like a music room...with a small bed by the windows. Who brings a bed with them to school? Apparently, a rich girl did. Just imagining butlers and maids carrying the bed frame, mattress, and all the necessary bedding to the third music room gave her sympathy aches. 

The first year glanced around the room. She hadn’t considered using the third music room to study since she joined the host club. It was quiet...and the boys weren’t here...and the girl was asleep. No one would bother her while she studied, and if anyone had a problem she’d apologize. Decision made, Haruhi sat at a table and pulled out her homework. 

It wasn’t until she was halfway through her homework that Haruhi noticed the other person in the music room. Soft whimpers, muffled muttering, movement. Haruhi put down her pencil. The other girl was asleep, crying quietly into her pillows, balled up like she was trying to take up as little room as possible. 

Haruhi left her table and hesitantly made her way to the sleeping girl. Was she having a nightmare? Should she wake her up?

“-orry-orry-orry-orry-” the girl muttered, tears falling faster down her cheeks as she tries to make herself smaller.

“Hey,” Haruhi said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “It’s going to be okay.” slowly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping girl but also not wanting her to be so distressed, Haruhi began rubbing the girl’s back and began coaxing the girl into a half-wakeful state.

“Please forgive me…” the girl said, her sleepy green eyes gazing at a space at Haruhi’s left. And then arms wrapped around Haruhi and pulled her into a hug. She tensed, but the sleeping girl just rolled them over and cuddled into her side. Haruhi lay there, blinking at the ceiling with a resigned half-smile. These rich people were completely ridiculous, but they were cute too so...she supposed taking a nap until rescue arrived would be a good idea.


	11. Sleeping Beauty (part 3)

Harry woke up to Mori-senpai gently petting her hair. Blinking up at the older boy, she faintly realized she was wearing a nightgown, next to the boy she liked, while he patiently waited for her to wake up. She bolted upright, pulling her blanket around herself, and burring her red face in her knees. This was so embarrassing!

 

“Did you sleep well?” Ootori asked, placing a uniform dress on the foot of her bed. 

 

“...I did. Thank you for asking.” For the first time in years, Harry had a decent night's sleep.

 

“The music room has a changing room, with attached showers.” He said. “If you require any accessories, or beauty products, the host club is willing to provide for you.”

 

Harry glanced around the room and noticed the other boys there. Suoh was in the corner emitting a cloud of gloom. There were a pair of redheaded twins, their hair dyed different colors, watching her and Mori-senpai with smirks on their faces. Honey-senpai was running his hand over the frame of her bed, whispering about the detail to himself or his stuffed bunny she wasn’t sure. 

 

“Ah, thank you.” She said, sneakily turning a blanket she must’ve kicked behind the bed in her sleep into a robe and quickly pulling it over her nightgown. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed the change of uniform, and darted to the showers. She wanted to forget this whole morning. Sleeping at school, Mori-senpai waking her up, the all of the Otome boys seeing her in her nightgown. Mori-senpai, he saw her in her nightgown. Oh, this was so embarrassing! She’d trade her good night of sleep to erase that horrible embarrassment! 

 

Walking into the showers, Harry groaned into her arms. Warm water, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and potions from her purse. As she soaked under the water, she tried not to cry. Being seen in her nightgown was the least of her problems. Her spells had faded, her makeup smeared off while she slept, her hair was a mess. They’d seen her scars. The horrible jagged mark across her face, the cut on her right arm, the burns on her legs, the bite on her left arm. They’d seen her scars...they’d know how pathic she actually was. 

 

“Hey, Potter-senpai, it’s going to be okay.” a faintly familiar voice said.

 

Harry turned to see a girl in the shower stall next to her. 

 

“I’m sorry...I don’t remember your name.” Harry choked out, her throat hurt to speak, and she let the water wash her tears away. She couldn’t keep crying all the time. 

 

“Haruhi,” she said. “I’m a first-year.” 

 

“Nice to meet you Haruhi-chan!” Harry said. “Ah, this is so embarrassing.”

 

“Yeah, the hosts make embarrassing situations all the time.”

“Really?”

 

“Oh yeah, the day I met them Tamaki walked in on me changing into a clean uniform-”

 

Harry let herself relax, listening to the younger girl talk about meeting the hosts and laughing with her as she spoke of their antics. Her morning had a rough start, but the rest of her day didn’t have to be spent upset over it. 

 

When she left the music room for her first class of the day, she gave Haruhi her phone number. Maybe Hermione had been right, making new friends wouldn’t be too bad.


End file.
